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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26005483">Visiting the Souk and the Pyramids</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucidscreamer/pseuds/lucidscreamer'>lucidscreamer</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>100 Yu-Gi-Oh Prompts [30]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime &amp; Manga)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Victorian, Egypt, Gen, Male Friendship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:09:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,478</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26005483</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucidscreamer/pseuds/lucidscreamer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Yugi Mutou and his best friend (Joseph "Joey" Wheeler) arrive in 1800s Egypt for the start of their Nile adventure.</p><p> </p><p>-------</p><p>"You won't have to worry about rogue mummies until we get upriver to the tomb Grandpa is excavating in the Valley of the Kings. Maybe I'll ask him to dig up a mummy, just for you."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler &amp; Mutou Yuugi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>100 Yu-Gi-Oh Prompts [30]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1266368</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Visiting the Souk and the Pyramids</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>NOTE: I'm using era appropriate spelling/names, so "Giza" is written as "Gizeh" and the names of the pharaohs mentioned are the Greek ones used at the time (Cheops and Chephren rather than Khufu and Kafre). I should also note that I'm taking some historical liberties in this series, so suspend your disbelief. It won't be anything worse than you've seen in canon YGO. ;)  And that's a working title; I know it's awful.</p><p>46. Egypt (100 YGO Themes)</p><p> </p><p>Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the creation of Kazuki Takahashi. No ownership of the canon characters, settings, or events is claimed and none should be implied.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Egypt, 18__</em>
</p><p>Anticipation thrummed in Yugi's chest like a hummingbird trapped inside his rib-cage as he walked from shadow into the heat of an Egyptian morning. He paused for a moment and inhaled deeply. The multilayered smells of Cairo were as familiar as old friends and, despite the hustle and bustle surrounding him, a sense of peace settled over him as he breathed it all in. After too long away, returning to Egypt felt like coming back to the truest home he had ever known.</p><p>The streets of the souk were thin and crowded with people, animals, and hundreds of wares for sale.  Between the walls of the tall houses, wooden rafters provided a frame for the haphazard jumble of woven mats and cloth awnings that dappled the ground with alternating stripes of sunlight and shade. Nearby, a man trudged along with an earthen jug balanced in his arms. As he walked, he sprinkled water on the narrow road in a mostly futile effort to keep down the dust. On each side of the narrow lane, smoke-wreathed shop owners sat cross-legged before their open storefronts and watched for potential customers with hawk-like gazes.</p><p>Even for Yugi, who had spent many days in this or similar markets in his youth, the <em>souk</em> was an assault on his senses. Beside him, Joseph Wheeler spun in place like a Turkish dervish in his attempts to see everything at once. Of course, it was impossible to stand in one place for very long; the crowd buffeted them along like a pair of twigs caught in a river current.</p><p>Stepping aside to let a small gray donkey pass, its rider's toes nearly trailing in the dirt, Yugi said, "Give it a week and it won't seem quite so overwhelming, Joey."</p><p>"I'll take your word for it." Joey followed him as Yugi started up the street again now that the danger of being trampled had passed. "So, where to first?"</p><p>Another donkey trudged past, this one so overladen that it was mostly visible as a rope lead and four stout legs beneath a moving mountain of green fodder. It plodded docilely after the <em>fellaheen</em> who urged it along with the occasional prod of a long walking stick. Joey, having never seen an ambulatory haystack, gawked openly at the sight; Yugi shook his head fondly and tugged at his friend's shirt sleeve to urge him in the proper direction.</p><p>"First," Yugi said, drawing Joey's attention back to their conversation, "we'll see to purchasing our supplies for the journey up-river, and then we'll return to the hotel for luncheon. Afterward, we should have time to visit the pyramids of Gizeh this afternoon."</p><p>The first glimpse that Yugi and Joey had gotten of the famous pyramids of Chepren and Cheops had been from the window of their railway carriage as it arrived in Cairo from the port city of Alexandria. From the vantage point of the railroad, the monuments were distant silhouettes, their triangular shapes familiar from illustrations but hardly astonishing. With no sense of scale, they appeared as little more than man-made hills, bland and unexciting to the senses. At least, that had been Joey's dismissive verdict. Yugi had let it pass, knowing from experience that only a proper introduction to the monuments at close-hand would change his friend's mind.</p><p>"I would like to get an early start tomorrow, as I have read that finding a <em>dahabeeyah</em> can be quite tiresome and so we had best set aside most of the day for it." Even so... "I do want to at least get a look-in at old Cheops' pyramid before we go on, though I think we must leave exploring them for another day."</p><p>"Not sure I would want to prowl around inside a pyramid, anyway. I heard there's bats in those things." Joey shuddered dramatically. "With my luck, one of 'em would latch onto my neck and suck out all my blood!"</p><p>Yugi chuckled. "There are bats, but I assure you, Joey, they're not vampires."</p><p>"Yeah, well... I'd rather not take any chances." Joey got a thoughtful look on his face. "Even if I'm safe from bloodsuckers, do I gotta be on the look out for stray mummies lurchin' around?"</p><p>"None have ever been found in the pyramids." Yugi grinned at him. "You won't have to worry about rogue mummies until we get upriver to the tomb Grandpa is excavating in the Valley of the Kings. Maybe I'll ask him to dig up a mummy, just for you."</p><p>"Do me a favor, Yug', and don't do me any favors."</p><p>Still bickering over the dangers they were likely (and unlikely) to face on their upcoming adventure, the two friends spent an hour or so amid the shops and stalls. While Yugi handled the purchasing (and haggling), Joey was largely relegated to playing pack mule for all the bundles and packages they accumulated. When, tired and thirsty, they returned to Shepheard's, Yugi steered them up to their rooms to deposit their purchases. That accomplished, they headed back down to settle outside on the hotel patio for well-deserved glasses of lemonade.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>They hired a carriage and enjoyed an easy drive along the excellent road from the hotel. When they reached the edge of the desert Joey admitted that his first impression of the ancient monuments had been a false one, for even at this distance the ancient pyramids were far more compelling. Closer to, the familiar shapes that had seemed so small and unremarkable from the train window became strange and compelling in a way that made Yugi's chest tighten with emotion, his breath seizing in his suddenly tight throat. Then something settled in Yugi's chest and a sense of homecoming flooded through him. A tension he had not realized that he carried seeped out of his shoulders as he gazed up at the distant summit of the Great Pyramid, remembering all the times that he had explored the site with his Grandpa and Yami.</p><p>Beside Yugi, Joey seemed to feel something, too, for he gasped and tilted his head so far back that his cap fell off to land with a faint "plop" in the sand.</p><p>"Wow." The exclamation made up in awe what it lacked in eloquence. Shading his eyes, Joey stared up at the massive wall of stone -- gilded a faded gold in the Egyptian sun -- rising above them like a staircase to the heavens. "That is one impressive pile of rocks."</p><p>Yugi laughed and bent to retrieve his friend's fallen cap. He dusted off the loose sand and handed the hat back to Joey, who took it with a distracted air, his full attention still focused on the pyramid as if he could not tear his gaze away. </p><p>Not that Yugi could blame him. He vaguely recalled being exactly that impressed on his first visit to Gizeh. Even now, he felt awe and wonder welling up inside him at this, his return after so many years away. He left Joey to his gaping and let his own gaze wander over the structures which seemed not to be crumbling ruins but rather unfinished monuments awaiting the workmen to come back and complete the job. </p><p>"New York ain't got nothing on this," Joey murmured, the soft tone of his voice leading Yugi to ascertain that Joey was speaking more to himself than to his companion. After another few moments, Joey turned his head to grin at Yugi. "Thanks for showing me this. I know you told me it was…" He shook his head, the words apparently failing him. "I wouldn'ta believed it if I hadn'ta seen it with my own two eyes."</p><p>Yugi just nodded, a faint smile curving his lips as he took a final look at the Great Pyramid, soft gold against the cloudless azure sky. "I know," he said, in a voice made quiet by reverence and gentle understanding. "Believe me, Joey, I know."</p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>They did not spend much time at the pyramids. Knowing they did not have the leisure to give the monuments the attention they deserved, Yugi had determined that they would have to leave crawling about the treacherous interior shafts for a later day. Even knowing, as he did, that the inside of the Great Pyramid was suffocatingly hot, cramped, ill-lit and filled with bats, Yugi was looking forward becoming re-acquainted with it and sharing the experience with his friend. He thought Joey would enjoy the adventure of exploring the various mysterious chambers, if he could get past his fear of the bats.</p><p>Joey agreed that he would prefer to give the bats a wide berth, though he was equally adamant that he not leave Gizeh without riding at least one of the many camels arrayed there for the purpose. Yugi was of the opinion that camels were worse than bats, but Joey could not be dissuaded from his notion.</p>
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